1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates generally to production line control systems and in particular to a computer controlled system for establishing and maintaining setpoints for production line controls in a continuous fibrous glass manufacturing process.
2. Description Of The Prior Art.
In a continuous manufacturing process it is essential that the production variables be controlled in order to produce a product having uniform quality. This is especially true in the production of a fibrous structure such as an insulating glass wool mat. Since at least some of the variables are interrelated, it is difficult to manually monitor and adjust the individual setpoints of the various controls. Therefore, it is desirable to have some form of automatic master control.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,316 issued to William C. Tretheway on Nov. 10, 1970, and entitled "Method And Apparatus For Manufacturing Fibrous Structures," discloses an apparatus and method utilizing a master controller responsive to a signal representing the rate of deposition of fibers on a collecting surface to interrelate the variables in the production process. The master controller sets the setpoints of various individual controllers along the production line. These setpoints may then be adjusted during the manufacturing process according to a predetermined interrelationship to produce a product having the desired density, width, length, etc.